United Way of Lee County :: NEIGHBORS :: Summer 2014

United Way of Lee County :: NEIGHBORS :: Summer 2014

NEIGHBOR OF THE EDITION :: TONYA COMBS
When Tonya Combs wanted to find
HAVEN of Lee County needed help. By
her own life even richer. “Volunteering
somewhere to volunteer her time, she
assisting on weekends, she has not only
has truly been an education,” she says.
joined VolunteerLee.com, the community
helped women at the domestic violence
“I started out just wanting to help, but
website, and quickly discovered that
shelter escape abuse, but also has made
through HAVEN I have learned so much.”
neighbors
helping neighbors
a look at public service in our community
from the United Way of Lee County
SUM M ER 14 : : No. 26
The Great Grocery Can-paign
returns in November ............................ 2
Despite challenges, Brick
Capital CDC moves ahead ................. 2
Is there any good news?
Yes! And here’s where to find it ...... 3
‘i read, you read’ is a big hit
It’s reading time at Tramway
Elementary. Some third-graders
settle into a classroom, open
their books and get started.
Zach Thompson is reading
“The Runaway Racehorse,” but
nobody in the room is listening.
That’s because his reading
partner isn’t one of the other
students; it’s Mikeal Basinger,
an executive at First Bank. And
Mikeal isn’t in the room either;
he’s in his office, five miles away,
connected with his iPad.
“I Read, You Read” is a
new partnership among United
Way of Lee County, Lee County
Schools and local businesses
and is designed for children who
need more help learning to read.
In this pilot project, all
students are good readers.
Dr. Carol Chappell, director of
K-5 instruction for Lee County
Schools, says that was important
}
Zach Thompson at Tramway
Elementary reads with Mikeal
Basinger at First Bank in Sanford.
How to get
involved with
‘I Read, You Read’
More mentors and
students will be
participating in “I Read,
You Read” this fall. If
you’re interested, join
while everyone works through
some initial technical and
logistical hurdles
But when “I Read, You Read”
expands to more students and
mentors later this fall, it will
give struggling readers more
time to practice in an engaging,
5 07 N or t h Ste e le Street
Sa n ford , N o r t h Carol ina 27330
9 19 .7 76.5823 : : leeco un tyun itedway.o rg
supportive environment.
Mikeal says he enjoys every
moment. And the students do,
too. “It’s awesome,” says Seth
Phillips, one of the third-graders.
“I like reading with people. We
get to see them at the bank and
make new friends.”
United Way
of Lee County
VolunteerLee.com
and become a fan of
Lee County Schools to
receive updates. It’s free
and the best way to stay
connected. Or, look for
announcements to come.
2
: : neighbors helping neighbors
SUM M ER 14
great grocery can-paign continues in november!
Happy people pouring into the
Lee Regional Fair on closing day
didn’t just enjoy some great food
and exciting rides. They also donated
more than two tons of canned food
to help needy local families.
It was the first phase of The Great
Grocery Can-paign, an annual food
drive organized by United Way.
Anyone donating five cans of food
received free admission courtesy of
the Sanford Lions Club, which uses
money raised by the fair to operate
several philanthropic projects in the
community.
This year’s official tally was 4,393
pounds of food, bringing the total
donated over the last four years to
21,561 pounds.
Food is distributed to needy
families by The Salvation Army and
Christians United Outreach Center.
But that’s not the end of this
year’s outreach! It continues on
November 11 with a public food drive
at Depot Park.
Anyone wanting to contribute can
drive through the collection site from
9 a.m. to 5 p.m., where volunteers
will accept donations.
Others wanting to help with
the food drive can sign up at
VolunteerLee.com to spend one hour
collecting food at the park.
brick capital cdc moves forward
After the state shut down economic
development initiatives providing its funding,
Brick Capital Community Development Corp.
had to scramble to survive.
Though the transition saw its staff cut from
five to two, the nonprofit is once again moving
full speed ahead.
For nearly 25 years, Brick Capital has
constructed safe, affordable housing, so lowand moderate-income families can step into
home ownership and increase their wealth.
It also renovated the W.B. Wicker Business
Campus, developed and manages supportive
housing units for people with disabilities and
victims of domestic violence, provides housing
counseling for potential homeowners and
conducts educational workshops.
“It’s important work,” says executive director
Kate Rumley. “Families need to know what
they’re doing when they get into a 30-year
mortgage and need to find something they can
handle. Brick Capital is making it happen!”
}You can save money
LIKE us at
facebook.com/
UWLee
FOLLOW us at
@UWLeeCo
}790
on medication now!
We understand how
expensive medication can be.
That’s why we’re working with
Coast2CoastRx to make their
well-respected prescription
discount card available
free of charge to anyone!
leecountyunitedway.org/
coast2coast.htm. Post from
facebook.com/UWLee.
trips were made last year by volunteer drivers from
Highway to Healing, so low-income cancer patients from
Lee County could get to their essential treatments.
}Some recent tweets
@UWLeeCo
Family Promise provided
housing for 20 adults and 49
children escaping homelessness
while they got on their feet again.
#UWLeeLastYear.
Thanks to 3M, our VolunteerLee.
com sponsor, 125 volunteer needs
have been met via the site this year.
900 registered users! #UWLeeTY14
Copyright © 2014 by the United Way of Lee County.
All rights reserved. For information about this newsletter,
write to [email protected].
LIV E U N I T ED neighbors helping neighbors : :
3
distance
education
Seth Phillips, right, and
Noah Ziebart at Tramway
Elementary read each
week on a video feed with
Amanda Stephens and Vicki
Thompson at First Bank.
After a successful pilot
effort, “I Read, You Read”
will expand this fall to serve
more local students in Lee
County Schools.
U P D ATE ON THE UNITED WAY :: JAN HAY ES
stay in touch for the latest news and notes
A lot of people complain that the
news is always bad. And it can seem
that way, since bad things do happen,
and newspapers and broadcast
media simply can’t ignore them.
But there are heartwarming things
happening in our community every
single day and United Way is here to
keep you up to date on many of them.
How? Well, since you’re reading
this article, you already know about
“Neighbors,” our quarterly newsletter.
In fact, we invite you to send items
that might be interesting for readers
community
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}
} November 4 & 6. Home
Buyer Education Workshop.
Brick Capital CDC provides
essential information about
purchasing a home. W.B.
Wicker Business Campus,
6 to 9 p.m. Attendance on
both nights is required.
across the community.
But here are other ways you can
stay connected:
} Facebook. We post news, notes
and photo albums at facebook.com/
UWLee. Our latest albums feature “I
Read, You Read” and “Tales & Tunes,”
a crosscultural concert presented
by El Refugio/The Refuge at the Lee
Regional Fair.
} Twitter. We tweet quick facts,
tips and events @UWLeeCo. Recent
series included examples of “The
Power of Your Dollars,” facts from a
} November 11. The Great
Grocery Can-paign ‘14. The
annual drive collects canned
food to be distributed over
the holidays by The Salvation
Army and Christians United
Outreach Center. Depot
Park. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
national report on charitable giving
and coverage of our annual breakfast.
} beginning @ home. The
newspaper column published
every month in The Sanford Herald
highlights a range of philanthropy
topics — including local activities,
national trends and how to make the
most of your own charitable giving.
} LeeCountyUnitedWay.org. And, of
course, you can find all of our posters
and publications — along with plenty
of other information — at the United
Way website.
} December 9. Blood
Drive. First Baptist Church,
202 Summitt Drive,
Sanford. 1:30 to 6 p.m.
For an appointment, call
the American Red Cross,
800.RED.CROSS, or visit
redcrossblood.org.
} December 15-17.
Christmas Joy. The Salvation
Army distributes clothing and
toys to make the holidays
brighter for disadvantaged
local children. Volunteers
are needed to help! Call
919.718.1717.
GIVE. ADVOCATE. VOLUNTEER.
VECINO DE L A EDICION :: TONYA COMBS
Cuando Tonya Combs buscaba un
lugar para ser voluntaria, se unió a
VolunteerLee.com, el sitio web de la
comunidad, y rápidamente descubrió
que HAVEN del Condado de Lee
necesitaba ayuda. Al ayudar los fines
de semana no sólo ha ayudado a las
mujeres en el refugio de la violencia
doméstica a escapar el abuso, pero
también ha enriquecido su propia
vida aún más. “El voluntariado
ha sido verdaderamente una
educación,” dice ella. “Empecé sólo
queriendo ayudar, pero a través de
HAVEN he aprendido mucho.”
vecinos
los
que ayudan a vecinos
una observación de los servicio a la comunidad en nuestra
comunidad por Fondos Unidos del Condado de Lee
“yo leo, tú lees” es un gran éxito
Es la hora de lectura en la Escuela
Primaria Tramway. Algunos estudiantes
se asientan en un salón de clase, abren
sus libros y empiezan.
Zack Thompson está leyendo “The
Runaway Racehorse,” pero nadie en
el salón escucha. Eso es porque su
pareja en la lectura es Mikeal Basinger,
un ejecutivo de First Bank. Y Mikeal no
está en el salón de clase; él está en
su oficina, a cinco millas de distancia,
conectado con su iPad.
“Yo leo, Tú lees” es una nueva
asociación entre United Way del
Condado de Lee, las Escuelas del
Condado de Lee y las empresas locales y
está diseñado para niños que necesitan
más ayuda para aprender a leer.
En este proyecto piloto, todos los
estudiantes son buenos lectores. Dr.
Carol Chappell, director de instrucción
de los grados K-5 para las Escuelas
del Condado de Lee, dice que eso era
importante, mientras todo el mundo
trabajaba para resolver algunas
dificultades técnicas y logísticas
}la gran can-paña de comestibles continúa en noviembre
La gente que asiste a la Feria
Regional en el último día donó
4,393 libras de alimentos en la
Gran Can-paña de Comestibles,
una colecta de comestibles
organizada por United Way. Los
alimentos son distribuidos a las
familias de bajos o pocos recursos
por el Salvation Army y el Centro
de Alcance Christians United.
}
Este año el alcance continúa
el 11 de noviembre con una
recolecta de alimentos en el
Depot Park. Cualquier persona
que quisiera contribuir puede
manejar por el lugar de la
recolección de 9 a.m. a 5 p.m.,
donde los voluntarios aceptan
donaciones.
507 North Steele Street
Sanford, North Carolina 27330
919.776.5823 :: leecountyunitedway.org
traducción cortesía de
Maria Tanner
iniciales.
Pero cuando “Yo leo, Tú lees” se
extiende a más estudiantes y mentores
a fines de este otoño, les dará a los
lectores con dificultades de leer más
tiempo para practicar en un ambiente
atractivo y apoyador.
Mikeal dice que disfruta cada
momento. Y los estudiantes también.
“Es increíble,” dice Seth Phillips, uno de
los estudiantes del tercer grado. “Me
gusta leer con gente. Podemos verlos en
el banco y hacer nuevas amistades.”
}cdc Brick Capital sigue adelante
Después de recortes del presupuesto estatal,
la Corporación para el Desarrollo de la Comunidad
Brick Capital hizo todo lo posible para sobrevivir.
Redujeron su personal de cinco a dos, pero la
agencia no-lucrativa sigue adelante otra vez.
Por casi 25 años, Brick Capital ha ayudado
a construir viviendas asequibles para familias
de bajos y moderados ingresos. También ofrece
asesoría de vivienda para los propietarios
potenciales y lleva a cabo talleres educativos.
United Way
of Lee County